Ulhasnagar: Toddler rescued from Maoist area in Bihar

The Ulhasnagar police team with the rescued child. Pic/Navneet Barhate

The Ulhasnagar police have rescued a five-month-old boy from a Maoist area of Bihar and arrested two people who kidnapped him. The police said the boy was taken from his parents from Ulhasnagar to Hyderabad on the pretext of giving free treatment. The parents who used to beg for alms in Ulhasnagar claim the boy was taken to Hyderabad and later on the pretext of being given treatment, to Bihar. The police team first reached Hyderabad and later went to Bihar from where the minor was rescued and the two people were arrested. Investigations will shed light on the motives behind the kidnapping and bring justice to those responsible.

According to the police, the complainant, identified as Meena Sunil Sonawane is a resident of Kalyan. Sonawane told the police that her five-month-old child Kartik had been kidnapped. "On May 1, Kartik was taken to Hyderabad under the pretext of giving free treatment. The parents were informed that his treatment could take at least a month. Meena contacted them continuously but got no response. The accused woman also demanded R2 lakh as expenses for the boy's medical treatment, if Meena wanted the child back," said a police officer.

With no hope of getting her child back, Meena approached the Ulhasnagar police and registered a case under Sections 363, 370 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

"On the basis of information provided by Meena, we formed teams and arrested Soni Devi Paswan, a woman from Hyderabad. On interrogating Paswan, it came to light that the child was in the Maoist area of Bhagalpur in Bihar. A team of around 10 police officers reached the Maoist area and with the help of the local police, the boy was rescued and a woman identified as Mal Devi Raza was arrested," said Vishnu Tamhane, senior police inspector, Ulhasnagar police station.

The police said Mala Devi was produced in a Bihar court and after getting transit remand was brought to Ulhasnagar.

"We have arrested two people in the matter. Two others booked by the Mumbai police are yet to be taken into custody. Our team is working to break the syndicate involved in kidnapping children from the city. Also, why the child was taken to a Maoist area in Bihar is a question that needs to be answered," said a
police officer.